Our town of Marshall, like so many mountain towns, was totally destroyed by the Appalachian apocalypse caused by Hurricane Helene. The abrupt change that followed was a total upheaval of life and we are forever changed.
Deeply embedded in this place and our community, we all collectively lost our central heart the day the flood filled the buildings like fish bowls. Everything we loved and worked so hard for was destroyed and swept away. I wanted to capture these wild times in a tintype time capsule, using similar technology from when the infamous 1916 flood tore through town.
These quiet moments showcase what we are proud of today, capturing images of newer business owners right alongside folks in a long lineage of those that have held these spaces along the river for generations. This series, like modern occupational tintypes, capture the artists, musicians, makers, dreamers and workers – all essential to the heart of Marshall.
Paint Creek Tintypes was a little dream that has quickly become a very important and personal project. I am documenting my beloved town of Marshall, NC after the devastation of Hurricane Helene.
Out of context our town could be a war zone. The 24 hours news cycle moved on long ago. But our people are still here. We are still here. And that’s who I want to capture with this project. Please don’t forget about all the folks in Western North Carolina and Tennessee that are simultaneously trying to live and love in this new reality.
I’m currently not accepting portrait appointments for 2024 as I am continuing working on my Marshall Magictown Project.
There’s no school like (the very old) school. More than a photograph. It’s an experience.
#tintype #mobiledarkroom #wetplatecollodion #MarshallTintypes
This body of work has been totally self funded and donations will go towards supplies and chemicals to continue this project. I hope to eventually have a show with this work with dreams of a book combining them all. I have not charged my subjects for these images 🖤 It has been an honor of my artistic career to capture the resilience of this beautiful place and it’s fantastic people.
VENMO @paintcreektintypes
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